Skateboards must be mastered by the user to maintain the correct orientation on the board in attempting to move on the board to safely use the board and ride on the board. The wheels of a skateboard roll freely on bearings so that any slightest shift in weight by the user while on the skateboard causes a sudden movement of the board and when the user is a novice it will cause the novice to repeatedly fall to the ground and may cause injuries. As a result of this there are presently commercially available protective pads, i.e. knee pads, helmets, and the like to protect the novice upon falling from the skateboard. At the present time, I do not know of any commercially available training device that allows the development of the fundamental requirements for balancing on the board, maneuvers and advanced tricks on the skateboard without the need to purchase any of the aforementioned protective devices. Accordingly, there is a present need for a skateboard training device that allows a novice to develop the necessary skills for mastering the use of the skateboard without altering the construction of the skateboard.
The prior art discloses braking arrangements comprising braking pads located on the underside of occupant propelled wheel devices that are exemplified by the Shepherd U.S. Pat. No. 1,890,755; Funkee U.S. Pat. No. 3,887,210 and Fiore U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,544. Various devices have been proposed in the prior art for controlling a skateboard in use. The Thomas U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,448 discloses a skateboard configuration that prevents the excessive tilting of the skateboard as illustrated in FIG. 4. Similarly, the Scallon, Jr. U.S. Pat. No. 4,744,576 discloses a skateboard having an outrigger arrangement that provides stabilizing and braking action during maneuvers with the skateboard.
The only known disclosure directed to a training device for the use of a skateboard is found in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. U.S. 2002/0163144 A1 published Nov. 7, 2002 and bearing a U.S. filing date of Mar. 12, 2002. The training device disclosed in this publication merely consists of substituting a training device for the skateboard wheels at the exact location on the board of the wheel and truck assemblies. The training device is shaped to simulate the height, width and rocking motion of standard skateboard wheels. The aim of the device is to permit a user of the training device to practice tricks on the skateboard without incurring the risks associated with the standard skateboard wheels. The device is limited to the removal of the wheel trucks for training purposes and mounting the device in the exact location as the removed wheels. The device simulates the rocking motion of the wheels and therefore is not stable.